Madam Chair,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on Administration of Justice at the United Nations.

2. The Group thank Ms. Alayne Frankson-Wallace, Executive Director, Office of Administration of Justice, Ms. Shireen Dodson, UN Ombudsman, and Mr. Abdallah Bachar Bong, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for their respective reports. The Group also welcomes the related reports of the Internal Justice Council and the Joint Inspection Unit.

3. The Group of 77 and China expresses its longstanding appreciation of the importance of the UN system of Administration of Justice as an independent, transparent, professional and decentralized mechanism for the effective human resources management of the organisation. The Group firmly believes that it is necessary to explore the resolution of work-related disputes if we are to guarantee accountability and respect for the rights and obligations of staff members.

4. To this end, we reiterate that a sustainable, adequately resourced and decentralized system of administration of justice, consistent with the relevant rules of international law, principles of the rule of law as well as due process is a necessary condition for the effective management of the organisation's most valuable asset, i.e., its human resource.

5. The Group takes note of the report of the Secretary-General and the information provided pertaining to the functioning of the system of the administration of justice for 2023. We observe that the Management Advice and Evaluation Section received 401 requests in 2023, reflecting an increase in the number of requests for management evaluation compared with 2022. We also note that 82% of the requests received did not proceed to the Dispute Tribunal, an indication of the crucial role of the management evaluation function in providing resolution to staff members. The Group further acknowledges the continuing downward trend of caseload before the Dispute Tribunal, as well as the steady decline in the average time for disposal of cases by the Dispute Tribunal in recent years and encourages the Secretary-General to continue these efforts.

6. With respect to the responses to requests made by the General Assembly in resolution 78/248 on multilingualism, assessment of the functioning of the system of administration of justice, and tools and mechanisms to minimize unnecessary, vexatious and/or frivolous litigation, among others, the Group will keenly follow discussions on the information provided during the informal consultations.

Madam Chair,

7. Regarding the informal dispute resolution processes in the Organization, the Group of 77 and China reiterates its support for the work of the Office of Ombudsman and Mediation Services, which remains a critical component of the organisation's internal justice system. We note the substantial increase in the number of cases received by the Office in 2023, and encourage maintaining this positive trend of informal dispute resolution, when appropriate. The use of this informal mechanism should be encouraged whenever possible to avoid unnecessary litigation, without prejudice to the basic right of staff members to access the formal system.

8. The Group also takes note of the report of the Internal Justice Council and the recommendations contained therein, which aim at enhancing performance and improving the operational efficiency and transparency of the system of administration of justice. As the mandate of the fourth Internal Justice Council comes to an end this month, we wish to acknowledge the work over the past years, and we look forward to considering the recommendations of the Council during the informal consultations.

9. Relatedly, the Group also looks forward to discussing the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the internal pre-tribunal stage appeal mechanisms, including the various recommendations aimed at improving the internal appeals mechanism across the UN system organizations.

10. Finally, Madam Chair, the Group would like to assure you of its readiness to engage constructively with all relevant stakeholders on this important agenda item towards a timely conclusion.

I thank you.